Review Of Hurricane Scraper for Woodturning

First know that scrapers do not always eliminate tear out, tear out is due to end grain and wood species, having sharp tools and the right tools will help to cut end grain nice and smooth ….at least to the point of being able to be sanded easily.

But….they are one of the best methods and tools to learn how to help shape and form your turning projects. On some wood, scrapers will cut way down on the amount of sanding needed.

If you learn how to shear cut with scrapers, you will be using a slicing cut which doesn not pull the wood fibers but cuts the wood fibers. You need to learn how sharpen the tool correctly along with using it correctly.

And then there is the issue of use a bur on your scraping tool, I’ve talked elsewhere about this and it can make your turned piece have a glass like finish before any sanding starts.

If you can afford to get a good and expensive scraper, then get one or a set.

If you are on a budget like me, you can get a set of Hurricane scrapers that are about 1 1/2″ wide and over 3/8″ thick, mine are close to a 1/2″ thick and I love them. A big scraper allows you to hang to tool over your tool rest 4″ or more without loss of control. Use these tools to smooth out your bowl after you have used your bowl gouge to put a rough shape ….sure, you can finish the project with your bowl gouge but a scraper will help you learn and keep control of your turnings.

Check out the Hurricane Scrapers from Amazon https://amzn.to/2xeYYYs

This is between a medium and high quality tool, it will make your life a lot easier when turning and they are cheap enough that you can learn how to sharpen them and experiment with different types of sharpening. These are big, wide and thick steel and if you have a catch you won’t be scared to death 🙂

Woodturning Boxes A Round Box by Guil

Guil the bearded woodturner shows you how to quickly and easily turn a round wood box on your wood lathe.

Starting with a Round Blank For Your Wood Box

Starting with a round wood blank

Matching the bottom of the round box with the lid of the round box

The video below shows all the details, really the basics of how to make a round wood box with your wood lathe. Guil is a talented woodturner and if you are interested in learning more about woodturning or just getting some good ideas about woodturning you should check out the post at Round Wood Boxes.

Woodturning A Fencepost Vase

If you are a woodturner it helps to keep your eyes open to new projects. I’m inspired by new shapes for bowls and blanks. I think I will create a pdf of just bowl shapes and a pdf of vase blanks.

I just need to be able to look at a piece of wood and think of how it might end up. Some woodturners are blessed with the ability to know what a piece of wood will end up being, some ….like me, kind of let the wood guide you to the final shape and project.

Anway, I wanted to share the picture I found of a vase that was made from a fence post. I’m not sure if its the colors I like or the shape or a compbination of shape and colors.

Identifying Ash Trees For Woodturning

I can identify some of my local trees but I have a hard time identifying ash trees. Most of them are dead so the leaves are not around to identify.

I found a great youtube video on how to identify Green Ash, White Ash and Black Ash Trees using leaves, bark, and shape. Very good video.

A couple of Ash Tree Wood bowls turned from a piece of white ash tree

I always try to collect a leaf sample when I pick up wood for turning. However, if you get a tree limb or stump from a dump …you’re probably out of luck when it comes to finding any leaves.

I like turning ash, its very hard …can be used to make tool handles, mallets and the like. It makes great bowls and vases. Ash finishes nicely, and even the distressed ash (worm holes and defects) look great.

Here’s the video on how to identify ash trees:

Build A 2 Inch Sandpaper Punch

Recently I needed some 2″ sanding discs for sanding my wood bowls. I ran out of sanding discs so I cut up some of my felt backed 6″ sanding discs but they were really out of shape and ruined several pairs of scissors.

A member of our facebook woodturning group asked if there was a 2 inch punch that would accomplish what he needed, that would be to cut some 2″ sanding discs from sandpaper blanks. He ended up building his own punch from a piece of galvanized water pipe.

I looked around and decided that I would make a 2″ punch from some thin walled electrical conduit. You can read about it here 2 Inch Sandpaper Punch!